Nydeggbrücke

The Nydeggbrücke is a bridge in Bern, Switzerland, which connects the eastern part of the old city to the new part. It crosses over the Aare and is located very close to the Bärengraben. It was built in parallel to the Untertorbrücke in 1840, which until then had been the only bridge crossing the Aare. The Nydeggbrücke is in total 190 meters long and took three years to build. It is a Swiss heritage site of national significance.

==History== Following a three-year planning phase on 7 July 1840 the city appointed Karl Emanuel Müller as the lead engineer on the Nydegg Bridge project. Starting in August 1840, crews worked throughout the winter of 1840/41 to build coffer dams and prepare the foundations for the bridge pillars. Despite severe floods and other delays by May 1841 the pillars were in place and above water level. The cornerstone ceremony took place in early June of the same year. In the fall of 1841 construction began on the eastern side arch and by the following fall both the western and eastern side arches were finished. With the side arches finished, in the winter of 1842 workers began building the scaffolding for the larger central arch. By the summer of 1843, the central arch was completed and on 14–15 September 1843 the placing of the keystone was celebrated with cannon fire, speeches and a feast. With major construction completed, the scaffolding was dismantled and work began on the decoration and roadway on the bridge. On 23 November 1844 the bridge was dedicated with a celebration attended by the entire city. The entire project cost about 1,650,000 Franks.